Why create an offer entirely dedicated to electric vehicle batteries?
Guillaume Hébert: The idea undoubtedly came to us because a battery can represent up to 50% of the price of an electric vehicle, coupled with the fact that we are passionate about the automobile sector and we were also keen to participate in the energy transition, to find solutions to help respond to the challenges of climate change.
Can you tell us how Moba and Arval came to team up?
Guillaume: From incubators to meetings, we interacted with many companies, including Arval. We were brought together at an event dedicated to the electrification of fleets in the context of automobile remarketing*. Naturally, many questions concerned electric vehicles and especially the battery and its state of health. But how can it be measured? What is the impact on the residual value of vehicles? This is a particularly important topic for Arval, when electric vehicles reach the end of their leasing agreements. However, we had a solution that seemed to perfectly address their current challenges and our relationship was born a little over a year and a half ago.
* Or the remarketing of vehicles from vehicle fleets such as leasing vehicles which reach the end of their contracts
The International Energy Agency estimates that electric vehicles could account for 18% of new vehicle sales globally in 2023
with more than 14 million cars sold (up from 10 million in 2022). Today, there are already 1 million in France.
What attracted Arval to Moba’s solution?
Guillaume Hébert: It happened quite quickly, which was a real positive from the outset of our relationship with Arval. We started from the team’s specific request: “As a vehicle leasing company, we need an industrial and deployable tool that allows us to measure the state of health of electric vehicle batteries, in order to better assess their residual value and offer transparency to our buyers”. It all started with this requirement, which perfectly corresponded to the role played by our solution, Moba Certify Pro, whose objective is to enable the ultra-fast, ultra-simple and ultra-industrial diagnosis of electric vehicle batteries.
How did you go from meeting up to teaming up?
Guillaume Hébert: There were two main reasons. We are capable of processing large volumes and this turned out to be essential for Arval, which manages an extensive fleet of electric vehicles.In addition, from the design stage, we came up with a really simple, user-friendly solution that is very instructive. It is the simplicity of Moba Certify Pro that wins over our professional customers. Using the application is natural and intuitive, and requires no training, which is why it is so popular!
"We were immediately convinced that the electric vehicle would eventually replace its combustion counterpart. And this was before the legislation which targets 2035, before the conversion bonuses. We were certain that the main question would be linked to the health of the battery, and its lifespan when purchasing and reselling the used electric vehicle.”
What are the foundations of the collaboration between Moba and Arval?
Guillaume Hébert: Our solution immediately dovetailed with Arval’s strategy regarding the energy transition and more broadly that of BNP Paribas. Being at the heart of their strategy, we established a special relationship straight away. What’s more, Moba is a highly innovative start-up with a solution unique to the market. Arval’s interest in innovation and “high tech” did the rest!
Christophe Thones, Remarketing Country Steering Manager at Arval : « Our work with Moba has proven to be a significant asset to our business, cementing our position as a major player in long-term vehicle leasing and mobility solutions. By working with Moba and end-of-lease inspection companies, we have been able to proactively meet the needs of our dealers and individual buyers. This contributes to the promotion of electric vehicles in an immature second-hand market, to teaching our dealers about BEVs (battery electric vehicles), and to the guarantee of total transparency towards our buyers. This includes the certainty of better battery life, in line with the specific challenges of the sector” Christophe Thones, Remarketing Country Steering Manager at Arval. »
"Arval has a fleet of nearly 1,650,000 leased vehicles worldwide: 366,000 of them are plug-in and hybrid vehicles and 126,000 are battery electric vehicles”. In 2025, “our fleet will number 2 million vehicles, including 700,000 electrified vehicles. Half of these should be 100% electric”
What has this collaboration brought you and what do you still get out of it today?
Guillaume Hébert: It’s really positive, in so many ways. This is a fantastic signal for the market and the automotive industry. The fact that Arval is positioning itself on the state of health of EV batteries is already very positive, but the fact that it is doing so with us confirms how apt our solution is. In addition, with Arval, we have a chance to gain a better grasp of the issues and problems surrounding vehicles. At the end of its leasing agreements with its customers, Arval recovers several thousand vehicles per month, all over the world: there is necessarily a kind of rhythm and established processes in place to be able to do it, which are all extremely industrial. It is a genuine life-size laboratory, that allows us to adjust and improve our tool by tuning into and understanding the industrial needs of a company like Arval.
Learn more about Moba:
- Year of incorporation: 2019, in Paris
- Mission: Facilitate the use of electric vehicles and preserve the health of their batteries, by putting data at the service of electric mobility.
- Main offer: Battery diagnostics for manufacturers. Moba Certify Pro is the multi-brand software solution for the diagnosis and industrial certification of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle batteries. Moba Certify Pro is the first “CARA Approved” solution on the European market.